Clinton: GOP calls to block Obama court nominee are ‘outrageous’

Justice Antonin Scalia’s death Saturday gave Clinton a new way to attach herself to President Barack Obama, rallying the crowd at the Jefferson-Jackson dinner here in downtown, blasting Republicans who quickly said they’d block any successor nominee as “totally out of step with our history and our constitutional principles.”

Story Continued Below

“Let me just make one point,” Clinton said, whipping up the crowd at the state Democratic Party event. “Barack Obama is president of the United States until Jan. 20, 2017. That is a fact, my friends, whether the Republicans like it or not.”

In a long departure from her stump speech, Clinton attached the new Supreme Court vacancy to her argument about Democrats needing to get serious about winning in November.

“Just look at the Supreme Court. I know that our thoughts and prayers are with the Scalia family tonight, and I’m also thinking and praying for the future of our country,” Clinton said. “It is outrageous that Republicans in the Senate and on the campaign trail have already pledged to block any replacement that President Obama nominates.”

Obama said Saturday evening he had more than enough time to proceed with a nomination. Clinton said she agreed—noting that the longest confirmation process in history was the one involving Clarence Thomas, which took about 100 days.

“There are 340 days until the next president takes office, so that is plenty of time,” Clinton said.

Going forward with a pick despite Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell saying he wouldn’t allow a vote, she added, “is exactly what he should be doing, and Leader McConnell should follow the constitutional process.”

At the same event, Bernie Sanders also zeroed in on his fellow senators.

"It appears that some of my Republican colleagues in the Senate have a very interesting view of the Constitution of the United States and apparently they believe that the Constitution does not allow a Democratic president to bring forth a nominee to replace Justice Scalia. I strongly disagree with that," he said. "And I very much hope that President Obama will bring forth a strong nominee and that we can get that nominee confirmed as soon as possible. The Supreme Court of the United States has nine members, not eight, we need that ninth member. A lot of court issues are coming up."